Libraries Are Good For Something
by incaseovemergency
Summary: Deryn, for the life of her, couldn't understand why Alek would drag her to here of all places.


It wasn't that she didn't love spending time with him, she loved him very dearly, and between their busy schedules anytime they had together that was longer than ten minutes was always welcome. But Deryn just couldn't fathom why Alek would choose, on their first day off in weeks, to go to some stuffy boring old library.

The whole place was full of dark shelves with dusty volumes full of every piece of useless information under the sun. The sunlight that filtered through the high windows seemed to be swallowed up in the silence of the old patrons. Deryn still felt nervous and just a squick intimidated whenever she entered fancy places without some sort of dress uniform on. Alek, however, seemed to be at ease here, striding down the aisles between shelves and tables with little lamps on them. She felt almost helpless as she trailed after him; as close as she could be without looking suspicious.

After nearly eight months in the service of the Zoological Society of London, her disguise as a boy stood firmly in place, so it would look nothing but suspicious to everyone if she grabbed Alek's hand like she wanted. But she felt so barking confused as to why Alek had chosen for them to spend the afternoon in a library that smelled of mothballs, instead of out in the summer sunshine. Yet every time she caught his eye with a quizzical glance, he just smirked and looked straight ahead again. He was just enjoying torturing her. The bumrag.

The two of them had strolled past the front desk and the busier front portion of the library with all the interesting novels and literature. They strolled past the encyclopedias and reference books, heading straight for the back where the dust had collected so heavily that Deryn was certain no one even bothered to browse this section, and simply avoided just on principle, unless a class had forced some unfortunate student to hunt down a particular book for a paper. Finally, _finally_ , Alek slowed down as they neared a corner. Carefully he reached back and grabbed her hand as he weaved between some hap-hazard placed shelves. She hadn't seen another soul for a good few minutes, and the corner he stopped in was invisible from the view of the main aisles. No windows were in this corner of the library, just a few shelves with a large support beam for the main structure of the building sticking out with wall on both sides, and a large and cozy looking armchair with a painting of a flowery meadow above it. Alek stopped and turned to face her. His stupid smirk that he got when he was feeling superior in place, but just a little softer around the edges was present.

"Alek, why exactly have you dragged us to this musty old place when it's a lovely day outside?" She murmured. He just stood there smirking at her. Waiting.

"Seriously, what's so important about-" She squinted off to the side to look at the nearest book title. "The History of Key Making that we're here? On our day off no less."

"Absolutely nothing love." Barking useless prince.

"Then why are we even here!?" Her voice rose just a little over a whisper.

"I found this little section while on an errand for Doctor Barlow last week," his eyes never left hers. "Nobody ever comes to this part of the library, not even the staff. It's impossible to see someone from the aisle way in here, and the architecture of the building makes this corner muffle sounds rather effectively." Again, she just stood there confused. The smirk on his face had turned so soft it almost because a smile.

"No one around to hear any conversations or see any girl in trousers."

Oh. _OH!_

Her price might be useless sometimes, but he was a crack hand at using his love and knowledge of architecture to find prime locations wherever they went. Places where there was no need for disguises or manners. Places where no one might listen in on a private conversation or walk in on rather, er, compromising positions.

"Ah, well. If you had told me you had found a new place to snog, I might've been more keen to come along."

Alek's hands were very distracting, climbing from her hands, to her hips, to her waist. His smile was as soft as could be as his eyes roamed over her from ankles to eyes. The sneaky sod always loved the look of her long legs and the feel of her waist cupped in his hands. Deryn herself always has trouble looking away from his eyes. Deep green that grew dark and hungry the longer he got to stare and caress and kiss. She gripped his shoulders, one hand trailing lightly towards the back of his head.

"If I had told you, liebe, it wouldn't have been a surprise," He pulled her closer, leaning in just a little.

"Well, your princeliness, I suppose you're right." She leaned in too, tilting her head. His eyes flashed to her lips, her eyes started to close.

They spend the rest of the day there in their hiding spot. Just as Alek promised, no one bothered them. They started calling it their little nook, and as summer turned to a wet autumn, they found more and more days to themselves, and more uses for their spot. The chair was large enough for Deryn to sit on Alek's lap as he held her close, even just to talk or share a book. The painting inspired a lot of new sketches for Deryn to focus on as Alek slogged through this or that report for the boffins. Bovril actually enjoyed the pictures in the books in that section, holding his attention for near hours while Alek and Deryn occupied themselves. They soon discovered that the support beam was solid and quiet, and just perfect for Deryn to lean against to wrap her legs around Alek's waist. They have a rainy afternoon and forgotten umbrellas to thank for learning just how quiet and muffled the sound can really be. Their little nook wasn't exactly private like an apartment would have been, but just for now, it was perfect.


End file.
